**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE APPLICATION OF AGRICULTURAL PLASTIC PRODUCTS IS INCREASING DUE TO THEIR ECONOMIC BENEFITS IN PROVIDING AN EARLY AND BETTER-QUALITY HARVESTS. DESPITE THE SHORT-TERM BENEFITS PROVIDED BY PLASTIC PRODUCTS, THEIR LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES AND NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON SOIL HEALTH ARE NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD. ALTHOUGH SEVERAL STUDIES INVESTIGATED THE MICROPLASTICS (MPS) BIODEGRADATION AND TRANSPORT BY TERRESTRIAL ORGANISMS, LITTLE IS KNOWN REGARDING THE INFLUENCE OF PHOTO AND MECHANICAL DEGRADATIONS ON MPS SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS, ATTACHMENT TO THE SOIL PARTICLES, AND EVENTUAL TRANSPORT THROUGH THE SOIL. IN LINE WITH BIOENERGY, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM PRIORITIES TO UNDERSTAND SOIL HEALTH PROCESSES TO ENSURE SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, WE PROPOSE AN INNOVATIVE PROJECT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE PLASTIC RESIDUAL FATE AND TRANSPORT WITHIN AGRICULTURAL SOIL. WE WILL EXAMINE THE MPS DEGRADATION AND FRAGMENTATION THROUGH BENCH-SCALE AND FIELD STUDIES. FURTHERMORE, WE WILL MODEL THE LONG-TERM MIGRATION OF PLASTIC RESIDUALS TO THE DEEP SOIL BY APPLYING ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, POLYMER SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND HYDRODYNAMIC TECHNIQUES. THE PROPOSED PROJECT INVESTIGATES THE INFLUENCE OF COMBINED PHOTO AND MECHANICAL DEGRADATIONS ON MPS FRAGMENTATION, SURFACE CHEMISTRY, AND MORPHOLOGY ALTERATION (1), ELUCIDATES THE INTERRELATION BETWEEN MPS, SOIL PARTICLES AND WATER PORE FLOW TO IDENTIFY MPS VERTICAL TRANSPORT THROUGH THE SOIL (2), AND DEVELOPS THE NUMERICAL MODELS TO SIMULATE THE MPS TRANSPORT AND DEPOSITION PROCESSES (3). THIS STUDY WILL PROVIDE THE FOUNDATION FOR CONTINUED EXPLORATION OF AGRICULTURAL SOIL POLLUTION. FRAMING THIS PROBLEM MORE ACCURATELY BY REVEALING THE MPS DEGRADATION AND TRANSPORT WITHIN THE SOIL ALERT THE DECISION-MAKERS REGARDING THE PLASTICS LONG-TERM THREATS ASSOCIATED TO THE SOIL SUSTAINABILITY.